


Grotesque

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [62]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:36:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6109687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	Grotesque

Scully knocks on Mulder's door a third time and waits. She knows he's in there, and she's not leaving until she speaks to him. When she again gets no response, she pulls out her keys and flips to the one with 'Mulder' taped onto it. She unlocks the door, picks up his morning paper from outside of it, and heads inside. She spots him immediately, lying on the couch, though he likely thinks he's hidden in the shadows. 

Shutting the door behind her and leaving the newspaper on the table, Scully navigates her way through the darkened apartment. It's the middle of the afternoon, but Mulder has the shades pulled and the lights off. She heads to the window and pulls the string to open the shades, but only a little. There is a grunt of protest from the couch, and she turns to find he's put his arm over his eyes. He's wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants, clearly never having made an attempt at getting ready for work. Mostow's drawings still litter his walls.

"Are you the truant officer?" Mulder grumbles as she sits down on the coffee table.

"I called earlier, you didn't answer," she tells him, ignoring his weak attempt at humour. "I sent our report up to Skinner and then left before I had to cover for you."

"You don't have to cover for me. I'll call him and tell him I'm sick."

She's growing irritated, but does her best to hide it. "You couldn't have called me to let me know what was going on?"

Mulder doesn't answer, but sits up, his head down and his forearms on his knees. He shrugs, "You figured it out."

Scully scoffs and shakes her head. "Dammit, Mulder." She gets up and flicks the shades completely open. 

He covers his eyes as if the light burns. "Jesus, Scully. I had those down for a reason."

"So you didn't have to see these?" she asks, ripping down the nearest picture.

He looks up at her; looks around. "Actually, I'm starting to get used to those."

Scully nods and purses her lips. It had not been her intention to get angry with Mulder, but she can't help it. It hadn't surprised her when he'd gone off on his own during their case, but the fact that he was making light of it now was a little insulting to her. "If you're just going to make jokes and shut me out, I might as well go back to work."

She heads for the door, but doesn't make it out of the living room before she hears Mulder say, "I wasn't trying to shut you out."

Scully stops and sighs, "You could have fooled me." She puts her hands on her hips and turns back to him.

"I was just trying to make sure you didn't get as deep into this as I did."

She frowns at that and starts to slowly walk back towards him. "That wouldn't have happened."

"How can you know that?" he asks, looking up at her as she sits back down on the coffee table.

"Because I know myself."

Mulder chuckles bitterly under his breath. "Guess I don't know myself."

"That's different," Scully begins, shaking her head. "Patterson pulled you into this."

"Because he knew me better than I did."

"He knew how you'd react...to an extent."

"Am I that predictable?" he snorts. 

"Predictable?" Scully asks, the corners of her mouth turning up just a little. "I would never describe you as predictable." He nods along with her, but is not comforted. After a moment, she adds, "Patterson didn't even know himself, Mulder."

Mulder picks up the picture Scully had torn down and stares hard at it. "What if I end up like him?"

"Mostow?" Scully frowns, looking from Mulder to the pictures on the wall.

"Patterson," he sighs. "Unable to distinguish myself from the monsters I'm chasing. Will you come visit me in the psyche ward when that happens?" 

He turns his face to her with a forced smile, hoping the humour he'd added will deflect from the seriousness of his musings. But she sees right through him. "You're not going to end up like him," she tells him confidently as she takes the paper from his hands. "Because I know you. And because I won't let it."

Scully stands then and takes off her jacket. Mulder watches as she lays it over the armchair across from him. She stands with her arms crossed over her chest and meets his gaze. He feels like she's expecting him to say something, but he doesn't know what it is. He wants to say thank you, but that doesn't seem quite right. So he says nothing. 

"You going to help me take all these down, or what?" she asks, reaching behind the chair and ripping a few pictures off the wall. She crumples them up and tosses them into the waste basket beside his desk.

Smiling, Mulder stands, stretches, and begins to help her. "You're not going to make me go to work after this, are you?"

"We'll see," Scully smirks.


End file.
